Chapter 80: Split Between Two Locations
Found the Survivors of Brooklyn Girls’ Academy.
The moment he saw Jonah’s message, Walfred felt his heart hammering in his chest. Meanwhile, Jonah kept typing.
[Ace]: On the day they arrived in Key West.
[Ace]: The Brooklyn Girls’ Academy field trip group was split into Team A and Team B, starting their tours from Key West City and South Key West, respectively.
[Ace]: Then the Antarctica gate was liberated, and since the two teams were so far apart, they weren’t able to regroup in time.
[Ace]: As a result, the students from Brooklyn Girls’ Academy are currently split between two locations.
However, Jonah’s contact didn’t know which team Jenna had been assigned to.
[Ace]: For now, I’ll share a list of the major shelters in Key West City and South Key West.
[Ace]: Key West City: Coral Cave Shelter.
[Ace]: South Key West: Coral World Shelter.
First, the Coral Cave Shelter.
This was a survivor group that had formed around the Coral Cave, a massive lava tube. Just under a thousand survivors had gathered there, and the location had one cleared B-rank gate and one cleared C-rank gate.
’And...’
Second, the Coral World Shelter.
The largest resort in Key West, home to over three thousand survivors. It was also led by a rather well-known hunter.
’Elma.’
An S-rank hunter with the water attribute.
Perhaps because having such a powerful hunter as their leader inspired confidence? Skilled hunters active across Key West were apparently gravitating toward South Key West.
[Ace]: My contact is currently at the Coral Cave. They’ve reached out to say they’ll begin searching there first.
[Ace]: By the way, your niece’s name was...
Walfred hurriedly typed his reply.
[Me]: Jenna.
[Me]: She’s a junior in high school this year.
[Ace]: Ah! Right. I remember now.
[Ace]: Based on the description and name you provided before, I’ll have them start the search at the Coral Cave Shelter.
[Ace]: It shouldn’t take long.
The moment he finished reading Jonah’s messages,
Walfred let out a long breath he’d been holding.
"Haah."
The hopeful news that Jenna’s whereabouts might be found lifted a massive weight that had been crushing his chest.
So he expressed his gratitude with all sincerity.
[Me]: Thank you.
[Me]: This really means a lot.
[Ace]: It’s nothing.
[Ace]: It’s the least I can do.
[Ace]: Everyone here, myself included, practically owes our lives to you, Hunter Walfred.
The same thing Bauer had told him.
After that, Jonah went silent for a while. Just as the silence stretched on, Jonah sent another message.
[Ace]: ...I’m sorry.
[Ace]: It’s late, but I’ve always wanted to say this to you in person.
Jonah’s apology.
This was an apology for abandoning Walfred at Prospect Park Station during the Bone Drake attack.
But Walfred didn’t hold it against him.
[Me]: It wasn’t your fault, Chief.
[Me]: Please don’t worry about it.
At the time, Jonah had been knocked unconscious by the shockwave the Bone Drake created, and the person who collapsed the exit wasn’t even him. It was someone else entirely.
Walfred’s composure sent Jonah into silence once again. After a while, a message came through, sounding as if some of the guilt had eased.
[Ace]: Thank you for saying that.
After that, Walfred and Jonah continued talking about various topics. Among them was the subject of Lauren, who had been part of Walfred’s group.
[Ace]: Oh, and about Lauren. She hit Level 15 this evening.
"...What? Already?"
Walfred blurted out without thinking.
He typed with a look of surprise on his face.
[Me]: She’s already Level 15?
[Me]: Just the other day when I heard from Hunter Bauer, she was only Level 9...
[Ace]: Yes, that’s right.
[Ace]: She gained a whopping 6 levels in just two days. She volunteered for the search team and kept fighting, and recently picked up a useful skill.
What kind of skill could she have gotten?
Walfred asked, his curiosity piqued. Jonah’s detailed answer followed.
[Ace]: Heat Drain.
[Ace]: It’s a skill that absorbs a target’s body heat in proportion to the contact area and duration.
Lauren had apparently used [Heat Drain] to siphon the body heat right out of the monsters. The monsters, stripped of their warmth, collapsed after suffering from hypothermia.
[Ace]: She also acquired a special skill that forcibly injects the absorbed thermal energy into a target.
The second skill was [Overheat].
It allowed her to store up thermal energy absorbed through [Heat Drain] and forcibly inject it into another target.
A target hit by [Overheat] experienced a rapid spike in body temperature. Once it crossed the threshold, every fluid in their body would boil and bubble until they exploded.
[Ace]: Using this method, she solo-killed a D-rank monster, a Snow Bear, earlier today.
[Me]: Wow, impressive.
[Ace]: It really is. I didn’t notice at first, but once she got into actual combat, her fighting instincts turned out to be remarkable. I’m looking forward to seeing how she grows.
The news that Lauren was adapting well brought Walfred some measure of comfort. As the topic of Lauren wound down:
[Ace]: I’ll reach out again when I have any news about your niece.
[Ace]: Best of luck on your journey ahead.
With that final message,
the conversation with Jonah ended. Walfred exited the chat and let out a sigh of relief.
’...Thank God.’
Now he had reason to hope for news about Jenna. And unlike the vague goal of combing through all of Key West, he now had clear destinations to aim for.
But the relief was short-lived.
A sudden wave of dread pressed down on him.
’But what if...’
What if he couldn’t find Jenna?
No, that wasn’t even the worst of it.
What if he received word that Jenna wasn’t among the Brooklyn Girls’ Academy survivors? The mere thought made him dizzy, and Walfred squeezed his eyes shut.
’Please, please let her be safe.’
Just as he was praying with every fiber of his being,
a small hand grasped his.
"Daddy, are you okay?"
Elsa spoke up, her voice laced with worry.
That face, the spitting image of Jenna as a little girl.
Seeing it, strangely enough, the anxiety swirling through his mind seemed to fade just a little. Walfred gently pulled Elsa into his arms and said,
"Yeah, I’m fine."
"Really?"
"...Yeah. It’ll be okay."
Walfred nodded slowly.
At the same time, he felt Elsa’s body temperature against him, far cooler than a human’s, almost chilly. The cold was enough to clear his head.
’Right. If anyone can make it, it’s Jenna.’
Walfred chose to believe that.
For now, believing was the only thing he could do. Having quickly regained his composure, he looked at the chat window again and reviewed his conversation with Jonah.
That was when.
"Oh."
A fact he’d forgotten suddenly came back to him.
Something he’d failed to mention when they were talking about Lauren.
’Come to think of it, maybe I should’ve told him we’ll be arriving in Philadelphia tomorrow.’
The thought crossed his mind, but
Walfred shook his head.
’No, better not say anything yet.’
If he raised expectations and then failed to find Erica, the disappointment would only be worse.